July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1325 

was born in July 1944 in the Western Region 

of Ghana. He was a master student who 

began his schooling at the revered Achimota 

Secondary School in Accra. He later went on 

to earn his bachelors and law degrees from 

the University of Ghana at Legon in 1967. 

Upon the completion of his PhD in African and 

Oriental Studies from the University of London, President Mills was selected as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University School of 

Law. 

After setting a strong foundation he returned 

home to educate and impart his lessons on 

the youth. President Mills dedicated nearly 

twenty five years to higher academia as a professor in numerous areas such as law, tax 

and African studies. He was passionate about 

teaching and politics. First serving in the capacity of Vice President from 1997 through 

2001, Dr. Mills was sworn in as President and 

Commander in Chief of the Republic of Ghana 

in January of 2009. 

I join with President Obama and various 

world leaders as we remember President 

Mills, who was often referred to as a calm politician and gentle giant. In 2009, President 

Obama and the First Family traveled to Ghana 

in his first presidential visit to Sub-Saharan Africa. President Obama praised President Mills 

for making Ghana a ‘‘good news story’’ that 

had good democratic credentials. Under the 

leadership of President Mills, the United 

States and Ghana deepened our partnership 

in the promotion of good governance and economic development. 

President John Evan Atta Mills is credited 

with leading Ghana through a period of stability and economic growth in the midst of unforeseen global circumstances. He is quoted 

in saying ‘‘Every Leader has a period of service’’. Though his service has come to an unexpected end, as we reflect upon his life and 

legacy, we can appreciate his tireless efforts 

that have come to fruition. A shining star in 

West Africa, Ghana was and still remains a 

trailblazing nation for the region and continent, 

with its strong tradition of democracy. 

f 

SHINING STARS 

HON. TED POE OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, last month 

I had the honor and the privilege to be among 

our community’s proudest at the Kingwood 

Fallen Heroes Memorial Golf Tournament. 

Folks teed off to honor three of our local fallen 

heroes from the Kingwood community: Sergeant William Meeuwsen, Lance Corporal 

Luke Yepsen and Sergeant Brandon Bury. 

The money raised at the tournament goes 

back to veterans through the local Houston 

Area Chapter of the Blue Star Moms as well 

as several other military related organizations. 

This was the first year friends and family organized a golf tournament and they were able to 

raise $80,000; donating $30,000 to our local 

Blue Star moms. What a way to give back to 

those who have sacrificed so much—including 

the Blue Star mom. 

The Blue Star Mothers Organization began 

as a Veteran Service Organization to provide 

care packages to military serving overseas 

and offer assistance to their families here at 

home. In 1960, the United States Congress 

chartered the Blue Star Mothers of America as 

a Veterans Service Organization and they 

have dutifully kept this organization going 

strong by supporting families awaiting their 

child’s safe return or consoling those whose 

sons or daughters who gave their lives for our 

freedom. 

All mothers have that special sparkle about 

them when they talk about their children, but 

there is something different in the twinkle 

when you talk to a mother whose child has 

gone off to war. One of the toughest parts of 

being your Congressman is to talk to moms 

and dads that have lost a child in action. It is 

a grief I cannot fully relate to and one we all 

pray we never know. But their courage and 

their understanding of their child’s sacrifice is 

powerful and inspiring. Every Blue Star mother 

knows that in a split second their lives can 

change forever and their Blue Star banner can 

turn to Gold. 

During World War I, if a son had gone off 

to war in the War to End All Wars, as it was 

called, a banner was hung in front of the 

home in the window for each son in the military. This banner had a blue star in the center 

of it. If the son was killed, a gold star was superimposed over the blue one. 

This concept was created by Grace Seibold 

on Christmas Eve 1918 upon learning that her 

aviator son was killed in aerial combat in 

France. Ms. Seibold directed her grief and sorrow to helping the wounded in local D.C. hospitals and formed the Gold Star Mothers to 

give support for other such moms. 

During World War II, my Grandmother Poe 

hung such a banner with a blue star in the 

front window of her home in the country. My 

dad went off to war when he was just 18. 

When my grandmother died, it was one of the 

few items she had saved. That banner never 

had to have a gold star placed on it because 

my dad returned safely. These banners have 

been carried throughout all of America’s wars 

since World War I. 

As a father of four, I can think of nothing 

worse than to lose one of my children. No parent wants their son or daughter killed in unknown foreign lands. No parent wants their 

child to predecease them and no parent wants 

their child to die in their youth. But it happens, 

and the grief can only be understood by other 

such parents. 

Mothers are special, particularly the mothers 

of those who wear the American uniform. It 

seems to me the strongest bond in all of creation is the bond between a mother and her 

child. The good Lord made it that way on purpose, and when that bond is broken by the 

loss of a child, that wound just never heals. 

One out of every ten people in the military 

is from the State of Texas. Roughly 10 percent of the total killed in Iraq and Afghanistan 

has been Texans. Yet sons and daughters 

throughout America, and especially Texas, 

continue to join our military knowing that they 

will no doubt go into the desert of the sun and 

the valley of the gun, and they leave behind 

their parents, their mothers. 

So as we show honor and respect to America’s children who serve, let us show American compassion and ultimate gratitude for the 

mothers of those troops who display the Blue 

and Gold Star sacrifice from their windows. 

And the next time we pass a house with one 

of these stars maybe we should stop and say 

a prayer and say ‘‘thank you’’ because of that 

special mother who gave that child for the rest 

of us. 

And that’s just the way it is. 

f 

CONGRESSIONAL REPLACEMENT 

OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ENERGY-RESTRICTING AND JOBLIMITING OFFHSORE DRILLING 

PLAN 

SPEECH OF

HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 

The House in Committee of the Whole 

House on the state of the Union had under 

consideration the bill (H.R. 6082) to officially 

replace, within the 60–day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lands Act, President Obama’s Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & 

Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional 

oil and natural gas lease sales to promote 

offshore energy development, job creation, 

and increased domestic energy production to 

ensure a more secure energy future in the 

United States, and for other purposes: 

Mr. STARK. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to 

H.R. 6082, the so-called ‘‘Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling 

Plan.’’ This bill opens up nearly every last 

piece of our public lands to drilling, giving 

even more to Big Oil. The bill would require oil 

and gas leasing off the East Coast, from 

Maine to South Carolina, off of Southern California and in the important fishery of Bristol 

Bay off Alaska. It opens up California’s coastline to oil and gas companies as early as 

2013. If this bill were to become law, areas 

that have previously been deemed off limits to 

oil development by state governments would 

be put up for lease. 

This bill also fails to secure safety reforms 

for offshore drilling, nor does it ensure that oil 

companies are paying their fair share to drill 

on public lands. The California Coastline is an 

international treasure and is one of the primary drivers of our state’s economy. We must 

protect our coastlines and the vital ecosystems they embody. We cannot place it at 

risk of an oil spill or give it away to reckless, 

profit-seeking oil companies. We cannot and 

will not drill our way to energy independence. 

Continuing to make our cars more efficient, investing in clean and renewable energy, ending 

subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry, and putting a price on carbon emissions is how we can obtain a secure and sustainable energy future. 

I urge my colleagues to oppose this senseless and harmful legislation by joining me in 

voting ‘‘no.’’ 

f 

IN RECOGNITION OF THE REOPENING OF ST. JAMES CHURCH 

HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH OF OHIO

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 

honor of St. James’ Church, one of the 11 


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